Early retirement is an ambitious and worthwhile goal – and despite the doom and gloom in and around financial markets since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), early retirement is possible. All you need is a well thought out plan and some clearly defined action steps to set you on the road – and then it’s just a matter of following your course and staying focused until your goals are reached. Below are five steps to planning your early retirement – why not get started today?

Be Clear About Your Goals

Take some time to get very, very clear about what you want to do in your retirement. And how early is ‘early’? Are you thinking of travelling? Starting a business? Just doing up your home, or alternatively upsizing or downsizing at all? Think carefully about these questions, as your answers will inform your plan and how you go about executing your roadmap to early retirement. Once you know where you’re going, you can work out the best way to get there.

Take Stock Of Where You Are Now

Work out how you’re currently tracking in terms of wealth and finances. Then you can see how far you’ve got to go in order to meet your goal of early retirement. Aim to establish a few milestones along the way as well. Working towards early retirement isn’t always easy and it’s a good idea to have a few smaller goals in place in order to keep your motivation high.

Make A Plan

Map out a plan of action to get you from where you are now, to where you want to go (i.e. your early retirement, or ‘destination point’). This plan will likely involve a budget, possibly some plan around investing and/or accumulation or divestment of assets; something to do with wealth building and debt reduction in any case. Your plan will be unique to you and your personal set of circumstances and opportunities. You should also ensure it takes into account your personal level of risk tolerance.

Consult An Expert

As most people are not financial experts, it’s a good idea to discuss your goal of early retirement with those who have a good track record in such matters. This should include your accountant, possibly a financial planner and, if contracts are involved, you should also consider adding a legal expert to your ‘early retirement brains trust planning team’. Another option is to enlist the aid of budgeting experts such as Positive Solutions Finance , who are experienced in money management and planning.

Stay Flexible

Knowing where you want to go, how you intend to get there, and following this plan are all great steps to early retirement. However, personal situations – and financial markets – are not static. It’s important to adjust your strategy to take into account any changes to your circumstances, or those around you.

Planning your early retirement doesn’t have to be a headache. With a little forethought and some expert advice and assistance, you might find it can actually be fun – although not as much fun as early retirement.

Got any tips for those who would like to retire early? Share your insights via the comments box below.